Keme kebabı, a seasonal cure for everything

Those who are familiar with French cuisine know that the most expensive ingredient in France is the truffle. Keme can be considered a local relative to this mushroom, the price of which varies between 4,000 and 8,000 euros per kilogram. It looks like a potato, but it isn’t grown everywhere like a potato. Only experienced keme connoisseurs can remove it from the ground as it has no seed, no root and no flower. The soil above it cracks when it is ripe, and only then does it become visible. In order for keme to grow, there must be a lot of rain. It is dug up from under ground in uncultivated areas, and a new keme does not grow again from the same place. Taking into consideration how this organic food grows, it understandable why it’s so expensive. Priced this year between TL 40 and 50 per kilogram, the price for keme last year rose as high as TL 250.

While keme can be found mainly in Şanlıurfa and along the Syrian border, it receives the attention it deserves in the Gaziantep kitchen. Gaziantep offers 10 different types of keme dishes from rice to kebabs. The dishes are available for only a month and a half. Keme has many health benefits, but you only have another month left to taste it. It’s not possible to store it and eat it later, either.

There’s a restaurant named Kübban Gaziantep Mutfağı in İstanbul where you can try this delicacy, which has seven times the protein of red meat. Mehmet Yılmaz, the owner of Kübban, explains that they offer four different kinds of keme dishes. “In addition to the keme kebab, which we make by dividing them into small pieces, kneading them into the meat, placing them on a spit and then cooking them over a fire, we also make roasted keme, casseroles and keme lined up on skewers.” To tell you the truth, I tried all four of the dishes. All of them have a unique and wonderful flavor. Keme is such a valuable food that Yılmaz said when he was an apprentice his boss would not let him cut keme with a knife and only allowed him to peel it by rubbing it against a stone. Now there is a keme cutter that makes it easier to put the keme on a skewer. The cutter makes a whole in the center of the keme big enough for the skewer to go through. The pieces of keme are put on the skewer and cooked over fire. I recommend that you try this kebab at least once in your life; it doesn’t appear for very long but has many health benefits. Of course, don’t forget to try the fresh garlic kebab and the loquat kebab, which are available at the same time as the keme kebab.

In addition to these tasty meals, it is also the time to enjoy nice breakfasts over the weekend with your family. You can take advantage of the traditional breakfast at Kübban, which covers an area of 4,000 square meters. The breakfast includes 150 different kinds of traditional foods. I don’t think there is any another place that provides this many traditional dishes for breakfast. With its staff of 76, Kübban Gaziantep Mutfağı is open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. It has a children’s play area, a prayer room and beautiful kitchen that exceeds all expectations.

Anyone who wants to try keme needs to hurry

Keme kebab has a mysterious flavor, and once you try it you want more, but because it’s only available for a limited season, you only have a short time to enjoy it. You have another month left, and then it’s time to bid farewell to keme.

You must try beyran soup at Kübban. It’s so good it can even bring the dead back to life.

The breakfast buffet has 150 different traditional dishes. I don’t think there’s any other restaurant that offers this many traditional dishes in one place.

The breakfast buffet was moved from the top floor to the second floor, which is bigger and more spacious. Of course, there hasn’t been the slightest decline in quality.

Parking is available at the restaurant, which can also host meetings of any size. You can also watch soccer games over the weekend.